FAIRMONT — Flip through the North-South All-Star Football Classic game program and one thing immediately jumps out.
No, it’s not the long list of all-state performers that took part in the June 21 contest. Rather, it’s the unusually high number planning to continue their gridiron careers at Fairmont State University.
Of the 72 players that made up the North and South teams, 19 — more than a fourth — are incoming Falcon football recruits.
For FSU head coach Mike Lopez, the logic behind a roster loaded with in-state talent is fairly simple: It, in his view, gives the program its best chance to consistently compete in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
“History has shown we can win with these kids. I did it myself,” Lopez, a standout defensive end for the Falcons in the late 1990s, said. “This year, we really wanted to highlight it.”
Bridgeport offensive lineman Josh Kniceley, among the first wave of players to sign with the Falcons, has his own way of putting it.
“(Coach Lopez) says he wants a West Virginia all-star team,” Kniceley said.
While keeping talent within state lines is nothing new, it’s not always the preferred route for every WVC football program. Shepherd University, located along the state’s Eastern Panhandle, had just two West Virginia players — Greenbrier East’s Tyler McClintic and Hampshire’s Bryan Beverage — on its 2007 roster, focusing instead on Maryland and Virginia.
“In West Virginia, you’ve got kids competing against smaller amounts of kids,” Lopez said. “In West Virginia, you’re often starting for four years. The three-week practice period (implemented several years ago) has helped; we’ve seen improvements in skills.
“These kids can play. Maybe no one else wants to give them a chance, but we believe in these West Virginia kids.”
That belief is far-ranging, and not limited to players labeled as Division II material. In fact, Lopez and his staff contacted Parkersburg blue chip offensive lineman Josh Jenkins — who ultimately chose West Virginia University over several other DI powerhouses — about coming to Fairmont.
Sure, seeing Jenkins in maroon and white is as likely as Bill Stewart leaving WVU to join the Michigan coaching staff, but it shows the lengths Lopez will go to acquire in-state talent.
“We want to get everyone in the state,” Lopez said. “Just because they’re a (Division I) guy doesn’t mean we’ll shy away from them.”
In some instances, the persistence pays off. FSU recently signed Richwood’s Shawn Murphy, a 6-3, 280-pound lineman who was an invited walk-on at Marshall.
Keeping things in the proverbial family has other advantages. In the week leading up to the game, North players — Falcons’ recruits in particular — became close. They ate meals as a group and hung out together the majority of the week, even if most of their time was spent on the practice field.
Kniceley went a step further in describing the fast friendship with future teammates.
“We just clicked right away,” Kniceley said after the South’s 24-14 victory. “I think we are a team now. And that’s a big advantage going in as freshmen; we all know each other.
“This was a big stepping stone from high school to college. You meet new people; you meet your future teammates and you get to play with them. I made some lifetime friends here.”
Added East Fairmont’s L.T. Harbert, another key FSU recruit: “I didn’t know anyone before I got here, even (North Marion’s Josh) Harvey. But in a pretty short amount of time, we got pretty close.”
It’s a bond likely to become even stronger in time.
E-mail Nick Cammuso at ncammuso@timeswv.com.
Fairmont State Sports
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PHOTO BY TAMMY SHRIVER
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